Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg while visiting a New York nightclub last November. His sentence is being compared to that of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, whose June 16 sentence for a guilty plea to DUI manslaughter included 30 days in jail, of which he served 24 days. New York gun laws are quite strict, however, and Burress' resources couldn't prevent a substantial sentence, writes Lester Munson for ESPN.com:

Possession of a gun in the city is a felony. It is a rule that is absolute. There is little room for discussion. If you're caught with a gun, you face a minimum mandatory sentence of 3 1/2 years. And it was obvious that Burress was guilty from the moment his gun accidentally discharged in the Latin Quarter nightclub. He was instantly in serious trouble.

They say: Players on the 32 NFL teams are sometimes referred to as a "large fraternity." Thus, regardless of what team they play for, they have their opinions. The Chicago Tribune's David Haugh spoke with some Chicago Bears about the disparity in the sentences that Burress and Stallworth were handed.

Besides his sentence, Stallworth is under a one-year suspension from the NFL.

Writes Haugh:

Around the league, including at Bears training camp, the reaction of many players noted how incongruous the resulting punishments appear -- at first glance.

But defensive tackle Tommie Harris, the son of a Pentecostal minister, was one of those players looking deeper.

Associated Press Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth in a Miami-Dade County courtroom on June 16, when he pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and received a 30-day jail sentence.

In Harris' mind, even if Burress had received a lengthier sentence at trial instead of pleading guilty Thursday to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, it would pale in comparison to the emotional imprisonment Stallworth faces.

"He has to live with what he did the rest of his life [and] that's bigger than prison," Harris said Thursday. "You took a man's life and have to deal with that every single night. You could go to prison and then get back out and start your life over if you're [Burress]. But you can never do that if you took someone's life [like Stallworth]."

But he is wrong about one thing. Because he also said of Burress, "This is a good man who used bad judgment. If he were John Doe, there would never have been a case." Burress, by all accounts, is a generally good guy, so there is nothing wrong with that half of the statement. But Brafman is wrong about the John Doe part; the one thing, the only thing, that comes out of this horribly sad situation that even resembles good news is that Burress got precisely the deal John Doe would have gotten. For once, we see that stars really are just like us, at least in New York City, at least in this time and this place. And that's reassuring.

Miss him: Burress caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the Giants' 17-14 upset win over the New England Patriots in the 2007 season Super Bowl. His former teammates are saddened by Burress' plight, writes Paul Schwartz for the New York Post:

Describing Burress as "a friend of mine and a great teammate," Manning called the situation "a shame."

"As an athlete or anybody, you just got to be careful what you're doing and where you are and know the circumstances and know the penalties for your actions," Manning said.

Sought mercy: When Stallworth was sentenced on June 16, Burress' lawyer, Ben Brafman, made the case that his client should get a similar sentence. Given New York's gun laws, that hope was probably unrealistic.

In an interview Tuesday night (june 16) on Sirius NFL Radio's Late Hits, Brafman made sure to point out the "real disparity" in those two cases involving NFL wide receivers - a disparity that's now part of his argument for leniency in Burress' victimless crime.

"Donte' Stallworth, who is I think a fundamentally decent man, took a plea in a DWI case in which someone was killed and the jail sentence there was 30 days," Brafman said. "There are other components to the sentence - there'll be probation and community service and house arrest - but they gave him 30 days and someone ended up dying.

"In our case there is no victim. So I think I have a powerful argument as to why there should be a lenient sentence here. I just haven't gotten the district attorney to agree with me yet."

Stallworth was more than 50 percent over the legal limit for blood alcohol when he said he flashed his lights at Reyes, who was jaywalking. A man without the Bentley option, Reyes was rushing to catch a bus after getting off his construction job. The jaywalking had to impact the sentence. Still, flash your lights, kill a guy, buy your way out with a top attorney. Is this a great country for people with great wealth, or what?

The Reyes family agreed to the wrist slap of a jail sentence because Stallworth paid them an undisclosed amount of money not to file a civil suit against him. It is a safe bet that he had to give them a lot. But it can never be as much as he took away.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did the Browns a huge favor by suspending receiver Donte Stallworth without pay for the 2009 season.

It relieves the Browns of a combustible public relations issue and even costlier consequences to their team salary cap.

The Browns can keep Stallworth on the reserve/suspended list through the 2009 season. He will be out of sight and out of mind. He is able to work out on his own, according to modified terms of his house arrest granted by a Florida judge on Tuesday, but the NFL prohibits him from entering the Browns' team facility.

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